


The Who Club

by Cap_Sweet_And_Salty_Sadness



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: Accidents, Amnesia, Amnesiac Flirting, Bucky Barnes Cooks, Hurt Tony, M/M, Not Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Compliant, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Tropes, With A Recovering Hunk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-13
Updated: 2019-08-13
Packaged: 2020-08-20 19:16:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,401
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20232994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cap_Sweet_And_Salty_Sadness/pseuds/Cap_Sweet_And_Salty_Sadness
Summary: “Well, look at that, someone let a hunk loose in the hospital. Who areyou?” The change in Tony's demeanor is immediate when he spots him. His eyes swipe up and down his frame with an interested glint.“I’m Bucky, a friend of Steve.”“Bucky? Weird name, but those shoulders and that face definitely make up for it. Say, Bucky, what’s your opinion on sleeping with hospitalised people?”Bucky chokes on a laugh while Steve groans behind him. He hasn’t expected Tony to flirt with him, of all things. He remembers now Tony used to be a real playboy.“I don’t sleep with people whose pelvis is held in place with screws, sorry.”“A pity. You could’ve held me in place and screw—”





	The Who Club

The Rogue Avengers have been back to the Facility for less than two months when a mission goes wrong. Bucky isn’t an Avenger and doesn’t get to help, so he can only watch from Steve’s body cam while everything is going well, until it isn’t. Iron Man throws himself in the middle of an EMP explosion for Falcon to get out of its range in time, and then makes a thirty meters fall from the sky, stuck in his metal armour. The impact is loud even from Steve’s distance, creates a small crater in the middle of a park.

He connects himself to the comms and listens as most of the Avengers continue to fight the villain of the day while a medic team rushes to Tony’s aid, along with Steve. The man can pretend he’s not a mother hen, but he definitely is. Ever since the whole Civil War fiasco, he’s been way more protective of everyone. 

He manages to remove Tony’s armour with the safety mechanism at its side, and the paramedic finds a faint pulse. They can’t know the extend of his injuries on site, so his unconscious body is very carefully brought into an ambulance to the hospital. 

“He’s going to be okay, Steve,” Natasha says through the comms, but Bucky isn’t so sure. He doubts a unenhanced person can survive a fifteen meter fall, let alone thirty. 

It’s hours later, and Bucky hasn’t heard from anyone since they wrapped the mission up and disabled both the comms and the cameras. He’s busying himself by making carrot muffins when the Avengers rush in, looking crestfallen. Well, Clint gapes at the sight of the cooled treats, but Bucky’s glare stops him from stealing one. He’s about to put icing on them, and Clint will have to wait. 

“How is he?” He asks, dipping his knife in the icing and starting to spread it on each muffin. He gives the first one to Clint because he can’t resist that sad expression and he’s a great food taster.

Steve sighs beside him while Natasha and Thor sprawl on the couch in the living room, visibly exhausted. 

“Tony is going to be okay,” Bruce explains, cleaning his glasses with his shirt. “Thanks to his suit, he’s only got a few broken bones, but the worst is his head injury. He, um…” He throws him an uncomfortable glance, which is surprising for him. Bruce is nice and honest if awkward, but he’s never been uneasy around Bucky before. 

“He what?” 

“He woke up and didn’t know who we were,” Steve clips in, his shoulders almost up to his ears. “The doctor says he probably forgot about the last twenty years of his memories.”

“Do they know if it’s permanent?”

“It’s too soon to know. They’re still running tests.”

“Alright. Shuri could help, like she did for me.”

“She only removed the triggers, Buck, she didn’t put back the memories. That was all you.”

Bucky can’t find anything else to try and cheer up the others. “Maybe we’ll start an amnesiac club then, The Who or something.”

Clint snorts, but Steve is giving him a look of disapproval like he does whenever Bucky makes a self-deprecating joke. He rolls his eyes and continues icing the muffins.

A few days go by, and Tony is still at the hospital. His absence is noted in the lack of rambling at breakfast, the sorts of conversations he will lead all on his own so there’s no awkward silence. Bucky and him haven’t really been alone together except for that time in the elevator, during which he’s tried to come up with a way to apologise that wasn’t “ _ sorry for killing your parents _ ”, but then they’d reached the floor and Bucky hasn’t had the chance since. He might not ever have the chance again, seeing how his condition doesn’t improve over the days.

“I’d seen videos of him before he became Iron Man, but I wasn’t aware the changes were this drastic,” Steve complains to him one night that they’re both in the gym and competing on how long they can run on the treadmill at the highest speed before they miss a step. So far Bucky is winning, but only because he’s playing dirty. “I mean, he’s taking things way better than I would expect, considering...”

“He used to be an asshole who was selling weapons and then he became the leader in green energy and also a superhero?”

“Yeah, that.” They continue doing their marathon. Steve wins, without even having to cheat, to the surprise of no one. Bucky is benching some weight with his human arm when Steve suddenly offers: “You should come visit him with me.”

He almost drops the weight. “Why would I do that? We weren’t even close.”

“Well, exactly. You didn’t know each other very well, which would give you a common ground to the both of you.” Stony shrugs. “Also you can relate the most to his situation, can’t you?”

Bucky can. He remembers the hazy days, the frustration of not remembering, the feeling of complete and utter loss. Tony isn’t alone though, he has the Avengers, Miss Potts and Rhodey. He’s not forced to hide in a dirty apartment of East Europe and live with the fear his old boss will come knocking at his door. He’d almost envy him if he didn’t know how shitty everything else is.

“Sure, I’ll go with you.”

They go the next day. Bucky bakes him vegan struffoli and substitutes the honey for maple syrup, because he can’t sleep and he feels like Tony might enjoy them. It’s supposed to be more of a holiday pastry, but it’s four months away, so it’s fine, right? 

He can’t say he’s not nervous, even though he’s aware it’s stupid to be nervous about someone who doesn’t remember him.

Tony’s reading on his Starkpad when they step in the private hospital room, but it looks difficult with one arm in a cast. Oh, boy. Bucky knew about the injuries, but this is the first time he’s seeing them in person, and… it’s a lot. There’s a lot of bandages and machines connected to him. Tony’s complexion is pale and waxy in the fluorescent light.

“Hey, Tony, how are you?” Steve says with a chirpy tone, but he’s trying too hard. Bucky used to hate whenever he was pretending all their problems had vanished.

“I’ve just started reading about 2007, it’s going great. Never thought I’d be able to pull off the Jericho missiles, but apparently I did,” Tony says, not looking up. Bucky isn’t fazed, pushes the box of pastries on the overbed table that Tony’s using.

“And you’re not at the good stuff yet,” he pipes in quietly, checking the vital signs on the monitor. Everything looks good, and then the heartbeat spikes.

“Well, look at that, someone let a hunk loose in the hospital. Who are  _ you _ ?” The change in Tony's demeanor is immediate when he spots him. Tony’s eyes swipe up and down his frame with an interested glint.

“I’m Bucky, a friend of Steve.”

“Bucky? Weird name, but those shoulders and that face definitely make up for it. Say, Bucky, what’s your opinion on sleeping with hospitalised people?”

Bucky chokes on a laugh while Steve groans behind him. He hasn’t expected Tony to flirt with him, of all things. He remembers now Tony used to be a real playboy.

“I don’t sleep with people whose pelvis is held in place with screws, sorry.”

“A pity. You could’ve held me in place and screw — ” 

“Tony,” Steve chastises him, ears red. 

“I couldn’t not try.” Tony gives him a devastating smile, and okay, is Bucky really the target of Tony’s seduction mode? 

He gestures at the box. “I brought you something, figured you might be tired of the food here.”

“Pfft, I wouldn’t call it food. Oh, are those struffoli?” He takes one of the small balls and eats it slowly, his eyes lighting up at the taste. “And they’re homemade. I think my mother made those once, before I was sent to private school."

Bucky has never heard him talk of his childhood, let alone his mother. "Well I've been meaning to try new recipes, so is there anything you'd like?" 

"Oh certainly," Tony purrs, and Bucky's neck grows hot. Damnit. 

He asks for cannoli, so Bucky bakes some for him. They're not the prettiest, but they taste delicious, if he can say so himself. He also brings him a thermos of coffee, despite Steve's disapproval. One thermos isn't going to influence his dependance anyway. 

Bucky can hear another visitor in Tony’s room when they’re walking in the hall, and they look at each other at what they’re hearing. 

" — believe you've stuck with me for so long, Pep." 

"The job searching market is too stressful, you know how I hate it."

"And I made you CEO. When did that happen?" 

"While you were dying from palladium poisoning...Oh, hi." 

"Good morning, Tony. Miss Potts," Steve nods, gesture stiff. Pepper is seated on a chair beside the bed, a small sad smile on her face. Her ginger hair glows bright in the sunlight at her back.

Tony brightens up when he sees Bucky behind Steve. "Hello, handsome. I was wondering if I scared you away." 

Bucky gives him a small smile. "I've stuck a hundred years to a guy who can't be bothered with a parachute and uses a tiny shield to protect himself from bullets, it'll take me a bit more to scare me away."

“Hey,” Steve protests. “I have good qualities too.”

“Oh yeah? Please list them for me.”

That earns him a look. “Jerk.”

“You’re like a beefier and less hairy version of Tom and Jerry,” Tony laughs, and Pepper is hiding a smile.

Bucky opens his hobo bag to give him the cannoli, then the thermos. Tony gives an exclamation and gulfs down two pastries in less than a minute, then licks his fingers clean. Bucky tries not to stare, but between his happy expression and the beeping machines, one is a lot more interesting. 

Tony opens the thermos and takes a deep breath in it. "Oh my God, real coffee. You added cinnamon too?”

"I asked Jarvis how you liked it." 

Pepper mouths  _ thank you _ while Tony is occupied drowning himself in caffeine. Bucky nods, overwhelmed by that gratitude. He’s really not doing much.

"So, would you explain to us what palladium poisoning is?" Steve asks, without malice. He's genuinely concerned, probably that Tony never told him about it. 

"From my understanding, the reactor was the thing that was keeping me alive, but its material was also killing me. It was before you were defrosted, Cap, no need to worry about it." 

"Worrying is his signature trait, you’ll discover soon enough.”

Bucky makes his third visit on his own. He feels like Steve has a lot of remorse he needs to deal with on his own. He brings caponata with him, which is a meal instead of a pastry that Tony clearly enjoys all the same. 

"Do they even feed you here? Geez." 

"They do, but I keep some space when I know you're visiting. It's like you've conditioned me." 

Bucky grimaces. "I'd never do that." 

"Yeah, I've read your file. You don't look like an assassin to me." 

Bucky laughs, his body relaxing in his chair. "Good. The first thing we’re taught at the assassin school is how to deceive your enemy."

“Along with sass.”

“No, that’s a complementary course.”

Tony's wounds are healing well, his complexion much better than during his first visit. 

"How are you holding up?" He gently inquires. 

Tony shrugs, keeps his eyes on his meal. "I started remembering older memories, but nothing recent yet. The millenium celebrations were interesting."

"Oh yeah? What did you do?" 

"Pretended I was interested in someone's research so they would leave me alone and I could fuck someone in peace. Turns out these two tried to kill me recently with their Extremis project."

"With the whole Mandarin situation? I've read about it. You managed to get everyone safe in the end." 

Tony snorts. "'Cause I'm a superhero, right? I still can't believe it.”

“You went through a traumatic experience and made life changes out of it for the better. Other people would’ve chosen an easier path.” Like running away until your past appears in your apartment and reads your diary. Tony fidgets with his tablet, today’s newspapers on the screen, but his gaze is on Bucky’s face, assessing him and hopefully his words.

“How did you celebrate the millenium?" 

Bucky knows right away, can still remember the plan of the house with a bit of effort. "I was planted as a cook to poison an ambassador and her whole family." 

"Did you do it?" 

"Of course. I had to choke her to death because she wouldn't die." 

Tony swallows. "Do you remember all your kills?" 

"I remember them all." He takes a deep breath. "Tony, there's something I've been meaning to tell you…" 

"That you killed my parents? I know already." At Bucky's surprised face, he adds, "It was in your file. My future self even added some personal notes about it." 

"Oh…"

"The name of who made that order, notably." Tony sighs in frustration. "It was Obie, not you, who killed my parents. You were just a weapon in their hands." 

Obadiah Stane has been a father for Tony, and not only has he killed his parents, but he tried to have Tony killed too. "I didn't know it was him. I'm sorry, Tony." 

Tony jerks, then hisses in pain. "Ouch. Not your fault, don't worry about it. There's a big difference between reading it on a screen and actually remembering it, I can't imagine how it must've felt for you." 

"It's a guilt I'll have to live with for the rest of my life." Bucky crosses his arms, doesn't miss the way Tony stares at his bare forearms. "You get used to it." 

He leaves to let him nap before Pepper arrives with paperwork. It's disconcerting how easy it is to open up to this new version of Tony. He's not the asshole he used to be, and he's not the man with trust issues so wary of him. He always looks happy to see him, and Bucky hopes it's because he's honest with him and not just for the food he brings. 

Speaking of which, he finds himself baking all morning a few weeks later, the day Tony is to come back to the tower, thanks to Doctor Cho's advanced healing technology. Natasha and Steve help him, and together they make a buffet big enough to feed superhumans for a few days. 

Everyone is there to greet Tony when he arrives into the common room in his wheelchair that Rhodey is pushing.

"Tony, it's good to see you," Thor says, bending to clasp a beefy hand on his shoulder. 

"How come I've never seen you at the hospital?" 

"I returned to Asgard on a quest to find a remedy to your memory loss, without success, but I did find you a Xorrian remedy." And he tends him a small glowing bottle, the liquid almost murky and a light iridescent green. 

"Mm. Thanks, big guy. What's this for?" 

"To heal your physical ailments." 

"Oh. It won't kill me?" 

Thor frowns, almost offended Tony would even suggest such a thing. "The opposite." 

Tony uncorks the bottle and drinks, grimaces at the taste. Within moments, colours bloom on his face, and he straightens up. Without needing any help, he gets to his feet, his eyes wide in amazement. 

"That's great, Thor. We should manufacture those, we'd make so much money." 

"No. The Xorrians' secrets are not to be shared with the unworthy." 

Tony pats Thor's chest, smiling. "Fine." He turns to hug Natasha, then Bruce, and settles for a handshake with Clint and Steve, less friendly. Bucky watches from the kitchen side of the open floor, busying himself by garnishing a shortcake with strawberries. He's probably cutting them faster than is safe. 

"Buckaroo, how come you're not greeting me?" Tony complains, suddenly a few steps away, and the knife in Bucky's human hand scrapes against his metal one in surprise. That elixir has really healed him. 

"You think the buffet appeared by magic?" He gruffs out, recovering from being startled. 

"I hate magic." Tony scrunches his nose in distaste, then he's grinning. "I much prefer you." 

He hugs him tightly, his hands wandering south, but Bucky allows it, too busy returning the hug with his non-sticky arm. 

"It's good to see you finally up," he says, breathing in his fresh smell. When they separate, Tony is munching on a strawberry. Bucky wants to lick the taste from his lips. 

"I was going nuts in that tiny room, you can't imagine. Now, remember that first discussion we had, about sleeping with hospitalized people?" His hand ventures again, slips under his shirt. Bucky shivers and leans closer… 

Someone clears their throat. He's pretty sure it's Steve. 

"I'm hungry, not horny, unlike some others," Clint whines. 

Bucky snickers and whispers to Tony. "Let's talk later." 

"Only talk?" 

"Stop flirting and come on already," Steve says, rolling his eyes. Bucky tries to do just that, but it's difficult when Tony sits beside him and keeps brushing his fingers along the seam of his jeans, Natasha on the other side witnessing everything with obvious glee.

"This is delicious. Is this a habit we have, to eat together?" Tony asks, his second plate almost empty. 

"No, but we could make it," Natasha suggests, smiling. 

"You've grown softer since I first met you, Rushman." 

Bucky quirks an eyebrow, pats her hand. "It's not a bad thing." 

"You dorks made me soft," she mumbles, busies herself by shoving food in her mouth. 

"I mean, remember that you still made that rookie cry the other day," Clint mentions. 

She perks up at that. "That's true." 

They continue bantering throughout the dinner, and Bucky is happy listening to them and eating good food. He's not an Avenger, but during nights like these, he feels more than ever that they're his new, disparate family. It's a good feeling. 

"So, can we talk now?" Tony whispers at him once they've eaten dessert. the shortcake long gone.

“You don’t want to help with the dishes?” Bucky jokes.

“You’ve made most of the food and I’m amnesiac, they can take care of it this once.” And how can Bucky argue with that?

They go to the penthouse, that Tony hasn’t seen yet. He blinks owlishly at everything, taking it in.

“Jarvis?”

"Hello, sir. Welcome back to the tower." 

"Oh my God, I really did it." 

"Of course you did, sir. Since 1997, you've elaborated an average of five projects every week, resulting in over five thousand and two hundred creations. I've listed them in chronological order, should you wish to review them." 

Bucky is floored. Tony is truly a genius inventor, coming out with so many ideas all the time. 

"You’re amazing," he says, worries his bottom lip between his teeth. “Tony, you should know that before, we weren’t close at all. You’ve opened your home to me, incredibly enough, but the pain I’ve caused you made you stay away from me. When you start remembering what happened in Sokovia…”

Tony cradles his face in his hands, presses his thumb against his mouth. He touches him like he’s something precious, to be cherished. “I’m remembering a lot more now. Not everything, but enough.” He must get on his tiptoes to reach him, and Bucky leans down to help him, meets him in the middle. His mouth is warm and soft, their facial hair tickling each other, and Bucky finds himself chuckling, giddy. He kisses him again just because he can.

“I normally don’t have to reach for my partner, can’t say I’m against that right now.” Tony’s voice is soft, his fingers scratching his fuzzy cheeks. 

“Oh yeah?” Bucky slides his hands down his back, grabs his ass to pull him flush against him. It’s a very perky little thing. 

“Yeah. Thank you for visiting me when you didn’t have to and bringing me the best food, I don’t deserve you.”

“Shut up. Of course you do.” He presses a kiss against his cheek, noses his soft skin. “Now, less talking.”

**Author's Note:**

> Follow me on [Tumblr](http://cap-sweet-and-salty-sadness.tumblr.com/) and [Twitter](https://twitter.com/CaptainMarianna). I currently take commissions, you can find the infos on my Tumblr.


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